Washington, D.C. - September 23, 2009 - Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that the firm has received a 95 percent rating on The Human Rights Campaign Foundation's (HRC) eighth annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The CEI is a tool developed and used by the HRC, America's largest civil rights organization focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, to rate companies based on their treatment of and policies regarding GLBT employees, consumers, and clients.

"Crowell & Moring appreciates that our success as a law firm and well-being as a community are greatly enhanced by creating and maintaining a diverse team of talented professionals. Our 95 percent ranking on The Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index is a testament to the firm's ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusiveness," said Monica G. Parham, Crowell & Moring's diversity counsel.

Since its beginning in 2002, the HRC Foundation's Corporate Equality Index has provided major U.S. businesses with a roadmap for establishing and maintaining inclusive workplaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. The number of employers rated from the first CEI to the present has jumped from 319 to 590; it has quickly become the premier benchmark for businesses to gauge their success on LGBT inclusion against competitors.

In a recent press statement, Human Rights Campaign Foundation President Joe Solmonese said, "The Corporate Equality Index 2010 shows that, even in the most challenging economy, leading employers are forging ahead of federal and state law to recruit and retain a diverse workforce - regardless of employees' sexual orientation and gender identity or expression."

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with more than 450 lawyers practicing in litigation, antitrust, government contracts, health care, corporate, intellectual property and a variety of other practice areas. More than two-thirds of the firm's attorneys regularly litigate disputes on behalf of domestic and international corporations, start-up businesses, and individuals. Crowell & Moring's extensive client work ranges from advising on one of the world's largest telecommunications mergers to representing governments and corporations on international arbitration matters. Based in Washington, DC, the firm also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Orange County, Anchorage, London, and Brussels.